Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022

Holy Family Catholic Church Pastoral Council Minutes

 

Members Present: Father Ramon Baez, Wayne Mattson, Freddy Andrade, Jack Beers, Sue Jones, Terry Mannion, Eileen Marcy, Kevin McVicker, Joshua Munoz, John Zurcher

Date: 1/25/2022

 

Time Start: 6:32pm

 

Discussion Point 1: 2022 Council Meeting schedule and dates 

-The proposed meeting dates are for the 4th Tuesday at 6:30pm. An extra meeting will be added on March 29th, September 24th for goal setting meeting and a follow up meeting on November 5th. There were no objections to the proposed dates.

-Father Ramon asked what a good date would be to start the mission (Late March (21st, 27th, 28, 29th or the third or fourth week of lent in early April). The person who will oversee the mission will be contacted. Depending on different factors such as scheduling and COVID, the mission should be given early March. The mission could be held in the morning.

Discussion Point 2: Council Schedule turn-over in June 2022

-The council year runs July to June. Father Creedon extended terms for. Father Ramon brought on new members. There are 12 members if organized it would be 3 people per year stepping down after their term is done. Freddy’s term will be finishing in 2022. Carol’s term will be finished in 2023. There is need for one more member to step down soon to let someone in. There will need to be a selection committee to oversee the selection process of a new member. The committee forms in February and then in March announcements are made. In May Father Ramon makes final selections and in June is when the new members start.

-Kevin, John Zurcher, and Terry more volunteered to form the selection committee.

Discussion Point 3: 2021/2022 planning meeting execution

-The Invitation of the Festival Table group who are in a minority group. An email was sent to the leaders of each table inviting them to a meeting to talk about their cultures as well as how they can help the council enrich the culture and so far, only one person answered.

-In February the council will find someone from the African American community to come to a meeting.

-For March Anselm could help find someone of the African heritage group in a March meeting. Father Ramon suggested asking Beverly Carol of the Advisory council of Racism to help with this project. She is a parishioner here at the Parish.

-Someone from the Latino community will be located to help in April.

-It was discussed how the food was handled and sold in the festival. A lot of the food was almost sold out on Friday and the There was just enough food for Saturday. Many tickets were sold ahead of the festival. The parish could find a small restaurant to sell food in the festival. There is room to add more food booths in the festival. This year there was only 13 because of COVID. There are some restaurants that could donate food for the festival, however, many people are content with making and selling the food themselves. The gym and indoor bathroom use during the festival was a slight problem during the festival. The space in the gym could be used for festival purposes. There should be activities for teens in the festival so that they can participate in the festival. 

Discussion Point 4: Upcoming synod update

-The synod is an incitive by the Holy See from October 2021 to 2023 where the world can participate in listening sessions so that the Holy Father can see the state of the church in the world. He wants to hear directly from the parishioners. All parishes, religious, programs, religious groups, etc. will hold listening sessions from February to April to foster synodality. Father Planty is the synodal liaison for the Dioceses. Father Ramon asks that the parish encourage people to come to the listening programs as well as participate in the program. Father asks that the council be present in the sessions and help foster communication and lead group conversations. Father Ramon is about to start the planning with his staff. The info will be sent by email for council members to view. The easiest way to do this, there needs to be a leader. A volunteer from the council is requested. In the information packet there is a communication kit to help with the sessions. There is listening equipment for those who do not speak English to listen to the session. There is someone who can translate in Spanish. There could be two sessions that parishioners can come to. The sessions can also be broadcast on YouTube. There could also be meeting facilitators, to help keep the meeting on track. Limiting the number of spaces can help keep the session on track. A trained facilitator should be present in each session. If anyone knows a trained facilitator who can help run the meeting please contact Father Ramon. Breaking the larger group into the smaller groups and using the classrooms could be done for a more accurate means of obtain information.

-The information packet contains information as to what the Church wants from the synod which to see how the church will move into the future. 

-In September 2023 the information gathered from the synod will be given to the Pope by the bishops.

Discussion Point 5: Inclusion/bringing together/intercultural sharing

-Father Ramon mentioned that someone approached him saying that the Thanksgiving Day mass made them feel disappointed and felt that they didn’t belong, and that the parish changed because the mass was Bilingual. The church is changing as well as our parish, we need to understand the situation that we live in.  

-Emelda gave an update on Black History Month in the parish, and she will speak to Father Ramon.

-A mass will be held in the last week of February; a fish fry could be done.

Discussion Point 6: Hymnal status

-Hymnals have been ordered and are on the way. The hymnals are a part of a new edition and are being printed. The choir copies have been distributed to the choir. Spanish hymnals will not be purchased because the cost is high, they damage easily. It would be easier to make a booklet with the necessary hymns in Spanish for the Spanish masses.

Discussion Point 7: Fundraiser for special projects update

-The update will be pushed to the next council meeting.

Discussion Point 8: What’s on Father’s Mind/in what way can the council advise or assist?

-Father didn’t need anything at the moment.

-The Father will give more information on the synod in the next meeting in February.

Discussion Point 9: Individual council member questions/thoughts/feedback

-Father Ramon has interviewed 8 individuals for the position of Religious Education Director, but unfortunately, they do not have the necessary experience. Tony and her helpers are doing a fine job and are not being overwhelmed. Father is still looking for someone to fill the position. There are duties being fulfilled by some teachers. Stacy, one of the admins, is doing a fine job. The people who are needed to fill the position needs to have a degree to be a director.

-The situation with the lack of a vicar was discussed. There is a need of a vicar for the parish. Father Bill and Father Jack help with masses as well as Father Tipton.

-The situation with the 400 people that the parish is unsure of whether they are registered to the parish and are active. With the increased offertory and faith direct, an accurate number was obtained so there is no need to for calling those 400 people. Attendance at mass has gone down a bit due to Omicron. The 11:30 mass is gaining a bit more attendance. The attendance number is inconsistent each week. Faith direct will remain for the time being since it is working for the parish and there are 300 families are using the service. There is a small number of people using the bank and a large number of parishioners using the envelopes.

-The HVAC systems are old, if they go down and if the parish is unprepared, it will be difficult to obtain one. Some options are available for HVAC systems. There are also marketing options to help get some financial help for the HVAC system. A company was looking into the units to see which ones need to be replaced. The proposal is taking a little while to complete from the company, unfortunately because of Diocesan regulation, an HVAC company approved by the Diocese can be used. Some more research will be done to see which units should be bought.

-If the council supports the proposal of doing a mailing for Easter mass, one will be done to see attendance will increase.

-Adoration is being done until 11:30pm, and Father Ramon spoke with some groups and had some people commit to stay in adoration for the later hours. The Knights of Columbus discussed having a Sign-up genius to commit to staying in adoration. Father Ramon discussed having another Friday Adoration until 11:30pm depending on the number of commitments.

-The Pope has requested a day of prayer for the people of Ukraine. The prayer of Saint Francis will be said for the people of Ukraine for the closing prayer.

Closing Prayer: 8:16pm